Qantas opens its new Heathrow Terminal 3 Lounge tomorrow (29 November 2017).
The lounge is open daily from 0800-2030 to Qantas customers travelling in in first and business and Qantas Platinum One, Platinum and Gold frequent flyers and their guests. It is also open to eligible Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire customers, Emirates Skywards Platinum and Gold customers and Qantas Club members and their guests.
The lounge is split over two levels with views out the airfield and has a capacity of more than 230 passengers, although no segmentation between business and first.
The design is the same as that of Qantas’ international lounges in Hong Kong, Singapore and Brisbane, with the food and interior design taking inspiration from the local region. It has been designed by Woods Bagot, with interiors intended to “reflect London at twilight with deep greens and rich blues throughout the furniture, while warm-coloured timbers, stone and brass represent the historic architecture of the city”
The lounge has a marble bar beneath a brass chandelier on the upper level serving cocktails designed by “the Qantas Rockpool Mixologists” and Australian and European wine and beer, while on the lower level there is a gin bar serving both Australian and British gins, including an Australian gin containing green ants.
Menus are “designed by Rockpool with a Sofitel service experience” and the dining room offers an a la carte menu. Sample dishes include:
- Quintessential British dishes such as ploughman’s platters, pot pies and scones with jam and cream
- Brunch bowls with eggs, avocado and kale, and zucchini and haloumi fritters
- Salt and pepper squid with green chilli sauce from the Qantas First Lounges in Australia
- Hot and cold buffets
Other notable features include a ‘Quench’ hydration station with tisane, fruit-infused water and sparkling water, with business facilities including wifi, flexible work spaces and workstations, plus six shower suites.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said investing in a dedicated Qantas Lounge at Heathrow was key as the airline prepares to directly air link Europe and Australia for the first time.
“The Kangaroo Route is at the heart of Qantas’ identity and London is one of our most important destinations,” said Mr Joyce. “We have worked with leaders in design, food and service to create a lounge that is modern and comfortable and incorporates the aesthetics of the Qantas lounges that make our customers feel at home.
“We are reshaping what customers come to expect from international travel with direct flights between Australia and London. It’s a long flight, so we’re taking a holistic approach to passenger wellbeing on and off the aircraft, and the new Heathrow lounge is an important part of that,” added Mr Joyce.
Qantas Creative Director of Food, Beverage & Service Neil Perry said: “We want to help our customers feel great throughout every part of their journey so we have been working with the University of Sydney to create dining options for the lounge that are light and fresh with a focus on hydration and nutrition, while continuing to offer a variety of locally inspired dishes and comfort favourites.”
In the last three years Qantas has built or refreshed nearly 30 lounges across its international and domestic network, with several other projects underway. The Perth International Transit Lounge will open in March and Qantas has started building the new Melbourne Domestic Business Lounge and Qantas Club.
From 25 March 2018, Qantas and Emirates will offer double daily flights between the UK/Europe and Australia with the choice of three hub options. Qantas will offer a daily London to Sydney A380 service via Singapore, a daily Qantas 787 Dreamliner service from London via Perth to Melbourne, as well as daily services from London via Dubai with partner Emirates to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. The airline recently announced a major cabin upgrade on its fleet of 12 Airbus A380s.
To see a full selection of images, see the Flickr slideshow below.
